Still unclear how most in Minnesota delegation will vote in U.S. debt ceiling deal
MINNEAPOLIS -- Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are expected to vote as soon as Wednesday on a deal reached over the weekend to raise the debt ceiling, though there are still questions about whether there are enough votes in Congress to pass the deal.
The deal was reportedly worked out over the weekend by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House. It includes restarting student loan debt payments, which have been on hold since the pandemic and will start up again in August. There will be no cuts to Social Security and Medicare. There will be a $20 billion cut to the IRS, and there will be a modest expansion of work requirements for food stamps and other social programs.
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Economists say the consequences of not arriving at a deal are enormous and could include a stock market crash, soaring interest rates, and delayed Social Security checks.
As for the student loan payments, in Dinkytown, the news that the student loan moratorium would likely come to an end came as a shock.
"It definitely makes you not want to continue your education," Fatima Kamara said. "I went back and forth so many times about whether I want to get my Master's or not."
The moratorium lasted about three years in all. Republicans say the student loan payments will pump $5 billion a month back into the economy.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she likes some parts of the bill and believes this compromise will avert a U.S. disaster. As Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, without the deal, the U.S. would run out of its bills on June 5. Klobuchar said she is voting for the bill to pass.
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"I think it's a very positive development that they had this agreement this weekend. I'm still reviewing the details of it, but I think there are some really positive things in there. It protects Medicare and Social Security," Klobuchar said.
Late Monday afternoon, Sen. Tina Smith released a statement saying, "I am carefully reviewing the details of the agreement. I am fully prepared to work closely with my colleagues to avoid default."
A frustrated Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum is studying the bill.
"I'm not gonna let this country default, I'll be clear on that. But this is their crisis, this is their problem. We weren't at the negotiation table," McCollum said.
Minnesota has four Democratic House members and four Republican House members whose beliefs stretch across the political spectrum. They are all being lobbied hard for their votes by Congressional leadership. Some say they're concerned the most liberal and the most conservative members could vote no.